Ice cube tray



4`luner18, 1935. A, HAISLIP 2,005,292

ICE CUBE TRAY Filed July 27, 1955 Invenlor `/qllorney Patented June r18,1935 i aooazas was PATENT'.

Applicationuuiy 2t, issafserial N0.) 6821498 nal .cellular 'partitioningunitV for the formation 1.o* of ice'cubes.`

ablyA in lan appropriate coil equipped rack oriy This pan orvtray isplaced slidholder' having a, at supporting .bottomv against which theflat bottom of the panv rests, in inti,

mate contact topromote expeditious cube freez-f ring results.

While this arrangement promot'esfexpeditious ice cube formation it'isfobvious that the' bottom of the tray adheres or sticks toitsrestingorsupporting surface. Frequently the ice-adhesion is such 'as tomake it difiiculttofslide or' pull the tray out for dumping. ofthecubes.l At the present time it is a makeshift practice to accomplishthis result by employingfan-y instrument such'` as a knife or screwdriver which mayv be; handy at the time to pry the trayloose,VManifestly, this results in damage to the parts which' is ruinous aswell as decidedly undesirable. 1 I have therefore discovered a need forthe pro-y vision of a mechanicallever'actuated 'thrust dej; vice of anlextensible and retractible type to be mounted on one end of the tra-yin a convenient posi-tion to permit they lever toy beexpeditiouslygrasped to act-nate 'the )device to lift the pan,

break the ice bond, and to permit the pan to b thereafter easily slidout for use.

Otherfeatures and advantages willv vbecome more readily apparent fromthe following description andld'rawingi v Figure 1 is'afront'elevational view of a pair of superposed trays located in thelrack or holder (shown inr dotted lines) illustrating the endYelevational appearancer of each of' the trays.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary View in section and' elevation illustratingthe supplemental pan lifting and release means incorporated in thefrontal portion of the tray and disclosing its preferred constructionand arrangement.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional. view taken approximately on theplane of the line 3-3 of Figure 2 looking outwardly, that is in thedirection of the arrows.

As before implied the invention is primarily adapted for use on aconventional aluminum tray or pan, the same being denoted by the numeral4. It is of customary design having the usual fiat botitvvm f5, 4 ra thepresent instarleeftn" iront, endwauf.

thereof 6 is formed with. a. drawnfdependingg, i flange. or aproiifl@appropriate proportion and; f configuration, ther same being integrallyjoinedlto the. front wallI of .thetray throughthemedium of an,appropriately curved.l we c ."Iri` :its upper; portion andV centrallybetwe Y: l `e opposite ends this. depending ange is provided with avertically elongated slots.. On fthe inner face `of theiiange is a partwhich may begenerally designated a's a. 10K fixture or bracket Illandrthis preferably comprises attaching platesl lr ofsuitable shape riveted.or otherwis'esecured in D130@ as indicated atllz;L

.It is.providedj with upper and lower vertically alined and apertured.'guide" lugs I3` and Ulik reg-K speotively to accommodatea'rec'i-procatory lifting and releasing pin or bolt l5. On-its upperencly the pin-nasa depressible head I6. Surrounding the upperprojectingorfcheadedlend of the pin an expansible coil; spring Il bearingl at..itsllowe'r,l 20 end. against the'upperk guide lug I3. Thus the' springIl functions as a returnfspring for automatically returningthe pineto anelevated posi tiony and to retain thelower endy thereof normally flushwith or abovethe bottom of the tray'.- V Y,

Manually actuated means is provided for de.4 pressing the pinV againstthe tension o f, the spring and this mea-nsis inv the form of a handleor lever whichxisvgenerally referred 4to' by the numerali8; y

hooked v;.

'I'hesleveris equipped withI an appropriate hand grip ljand-furtherformed with a cam vele-u mentfMl.` This camy element projects inwardlythrough the slot rand is` pivotally mounted on ai ootter pin;r or thelike 2 I {supported in spaced par# allel ears 2:2y formingY a partof theaforesaidattaching bracket., Incidentally in its broadestconfceptionthis attaching bracket is referred itoas guide means for thespring returned slida'blerelease pin. 'Itis tobeobserved that the leverI8 is located on'v the n cam 20S protrudes inwardly through" the slotina position tolbear upon theA head I6as shown in the drawing,V Thenumeral23 merely designates anv extension whichmay be de'scribedr as aslot closure or filler.v` In other words when the lever is in its normalclosed position as shown in Figure 2 this extension projects into theslot and closes the upper end portion of the slot. The extension howeverdoes not interfere withthe lifting of the lever in the direction of thearrow when the lever is brought into play.

It is evident that by grasping the hooked portion I9 of the'lever I8 andlifting it in the direction of the arrow this swings the cam 2D down inan arc and inasmuch as the cam is in contactzwith outer side of theflange I and: the 40.

- vantages, the explicit construction;

2 the head I6 the pin I5 is forced down against the tension of thecoiled spring I1. This projects the pin down beyond the lowermost guideI4 so that it engages the supporting surface of the tray holder, thuslifting the pan and breaking the ice seal to facilitate withdrawal ofthe pan.

It is obvious that with thisV arrangement the spring normally maintainsthe pin in a retracted position and its lower end is ush with the bottomof the tray. Thus the presence of the device on the tray does notinterfere with the smooth insertion thereof intothe holding rack. If,however, the tray becomes stuck by adhesion of the frost it can beeasily lifted and loosened through the instrumentality of the devicehere provided.

A device of this type is believed. to be ingenious and of suchsimplicity and practicability to justify its endorsement as aninnovationin this particular line of endeavor. It is feasible andpractical and will undoubtedly fulfill the requirements of the invention'in a highly practical. and satisfactory manner. VIt lis easy to operateand conveniently located and in no way-,interferes with the normalfunctioning of theA tray.

A careful' consideration of the'foregoingidescription' in `conjunctionwith the illustrative to obtain a clear features and adand theinvendrawing will enable` the reader understanding ofy the purpose,

tion as hereinafter claimed.

It is tobe understood that minor changes inl shape, size, relativeproportionaand materials maybe resorted to in practice without departingfrom the spirit of the invention or the scope of the invention as nowclaimed.

Having thus described my invention, olaimas new is:

` 1. An ice cube tray, a bracket having guide members on the front wallof said tray, a thrust pin mounted for vertical sliding movement in saidguide members, spring returnv means for said pin surrounding the pin,said return means serving to retain the lower end of the pin retractedwhat I to a substantially flush position with respectto the bottom tray,and manually actuated means carried by said tray and cooperable with theupper end of the pin for actuating said pin, said means being in theform of a pivoted leverand having a cam element engageable with saidpin.y

2. An `ice cube tray providedon its front wall with a vertical guide, aheaded pin slidably rmounted in said guide, a coil spring surroundingthe lupper end portion of the pin beneath the head and bearingon saidguide to normally retract and retain the pin in an out of the wayposition, a cam mounted for oscillation onl the tray above and incontact Vwith the head of said pin.

3. An ice cube tray provided on its front wall with a vertical guide, aheaded pin, slidably mounted in said guide, a coil spring surroundingthe upper end'portion of the pin beneath the headV and bearing on saidguide to normally retract and retain the pin 1n an out of the wayposition, a cam mounted for oscillation on the tray above and in contactwith the head of said pin, and a handle attached to said cam tofacilitate actuation of the cam and to further facilitate withdrawal ofthe tray after it is loosened.

4. In a structure of the class described, an ice cube tray provided onits front Wall with a depending apron-like flange depending in spacedparallelism to the front wall of said tray, said flange being providedat a predetermined point with a vertically elongated slot, a guideequipped bracket mounted on the inner surfaces of said flange, a springreturned headed release pin slidably mounted in said bracket, the headedportion of Ysaid pin being located adjacent said slot, a lever pivotallysupported on said flange and including a cam extending inwardly throughthe slot and engageable with the head of said pin.

5. In a structure of the class described, an ice cube tray having oneend wall thereof formed with an integral flange depending in spacedparallelism to said one end wall, said flange being provided adjacentits upper portion with a vertically elongated slot, a bracket fastenedtothe inner surface of the flange and spaced from said end wall, saidbracket being provided with upper and lower guide lugs and adjacent itsupper end with apertured ears located in alinement with said slot, a pinslidably mounted in said lugs, said pin being provided on its upper endwith a head, a return spring surrounding the headed end of the pin andbearing on the adjacent lug, a lever disposed on the outer side of saidflange, the free end portion of said lever being formed into a fingerhook, the opposite end portion thereof being provided with a camextending inwardly through the slot and pivotally supported between saidears, said cam being located for depressible engagement with the head ofthe pin.

6. `An ice bond breaking and cubetray lifting device comprising a thrustpin adapted for vertical disposition and reciprocation, guide andattaching means for securing said pin to said tray, a manuallycontrolled pin depressing lever separate and independent of said pin,said lever being adapted for disposition at right angles to the pin andliftable upwardly and provided with a cam engageable with thecomplemental end of said pin order to depress the pin.

7. In a structure of the class described, a guide bracket adapted forattachment to an ice cube tray of the class described, a thrustproducing plunger pin mounted for vertical sliding in said bracket,spring means associated with the bracket and pin for maintaining the pinin a normal retracted out of the way position, an actuating leveradapted to assume a position at approximate right angles to said pin,and cam coacting means between the inner end of said lever and upper endof said pin, whereby when said lever is grasped and pulled upwardly saidpin is forced downwardly in the manner and for the purposes described.

ALBERT S. HAISLIP.

